Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Too Long

1993

That was the last time my friends Kevin, Marty and I have had the chance to hang out as the thick as thieves trio we once were so long ago. Since Marty is settled back into being stateside after a long absence from the USA in Germany, it was decided we all needed to get it together and catch up a bit. Marty's career fortunately has yielded a substantial amount of frequent flier miles, so he kindly used some of that mileage to hook me up with a ticket to Dayton, Ohio and the long awaited meeting of the “Triad of Enlightenment” as Marty calls it.

Bicycles, yes there is content to be had in this tale. First, by wanting to dodge the obnoxious parking fees at John Wayne Airport to see if riding my bicycle there was a viable option. The Airport Authority was quick in returning my email inquiry and shooting down my notion by stating that they don’t accommodate bicycles in any manner, even for airport employees. How else are they going to collect $20 a day for parking? I managed to dodge the airport parking fees in my own way and spent $3 on a viable public transportation option.

The second bit of bicycle content in this trip happened quite by accident. While staying at Casa De Kevin in the wonderful little ‘burg of Fairborn, we decided to take a trip to the National Museum of the US Air Force. The decision to pay this museum a visit was unanimous because we had met initially while serving in the USAF. The museum is set up in chronological order and the first wing is “Early Flight”. So what greets us as we walk in the door of that particular wing? A bicycle and parts built and machined by the Wright Brothers.

My having visited the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum before, the National Museum of the US Air Force did not disappoint one little bit. In fact, the only way the Smithsonian may be considered better could be the historical significance of the aircraft on display. Even so, the historical significance of the aircraft on display in the USAF Museum was high as well.

One parting bicycle “shot” is the statue of Icarus near the entrance. How is this a bicycle reference? Why, the infamous Flight of Icarus Trail in Western Colorado, of course!